Darkwater (Florida)
Contents
History
There was an earlier attempt at a group in the area called "The Sinking Lands" (a reference to sinkholes) started by Varg. When Kitirat, who had played at Silverwater moved to Gainesville, Bjorn, Lily, Varg and he started the group with the help of others. The group quickly grew in size, and has at various points been the largest Amtgard group in Florida. The group was originally named Darkwater (a reference to underwater cave pools in the area) but they discovered that there was already a Shire of Darkwater (named for similar reasons) in Portales, NM. Instead of picking a new name, they contacted that group and set up an arrangement, and thus became Darkwater East. Several people from DWE joined a household from the other Darkwater called the The Brothers and Sisters of War and Vengeance. Darkwater East has slowly declined from its height as a Grand duchy over the years. Daily attendance dropped form 75+ to 6, and has been slow to recover. With a weekly attendance around 15, the park decided in early 2008 that something drastic needed to be done to turn the park around. In addition to voting to leave the Kingdom of Neverwinter, the park has decided to change both it's name and heraldry, as well as revamping game play, recruiting, forums, and a host of other issues in an attempt to revitalize the park. On the 4th of May, Darkwater East became the Shire of Kestral Keep. New Heraldry is in the works as well as a concerted recruiting effort.
This Amtgard field has been around since 1997. It is approaching its 25th anniversary. It has had a name change here and there (Kestrel Keep), but has returned to a more familiar name of Darkwater. With membership ranging from a shire to over 200 people as the Grand Duchy of Darkwater East, numbers change, times change. It currently has an active population of about 20 members, and is climbing.
Other Lands Contracted in Gainesville, Florida
Plays on Sundays in Kanapha Veteran's Park.
Contacts and Directions
- Monarch: Monas
- Regent: Sien
- Champion: Mythron Nightraven
- Prime Minister: Squire DaPage